An excellent, fantastical story, combining mythos, theology and Armageddon sprinkled with sex and feminism. Very well written, and a compelling page turner. ~ J. Fairman

5 stars – Very well written story; I had a hard time putting it down.

I started this morning before work and now it’s after midnight. What a great read! How to describe this book? …set in current times for the most part, at the Pentagon and other US locations. The heroine, Tharcia, reads out a spell that ultimately changes the world. I don’t want to say anything more, except that I would definitely recommend it. ~ patiscynical

5 stars – It’s all about the journey

…one page in and I was hooked …memorable characters that took the story to such amazing places …cliff-hanger scenes and wild story development …inspire hope in the face of cynicism … fun, captivating, and heartening read! ~ Doug C.

4 stars – Entertaining and engrossing, great read, characters fleshed out perfectly and seem very real

Good book for any age. Thanks ~ Amazon Customer

5 stars – A great cyber punk story!

This is another book I read straight through – the cyber science behind it is fascinating and easily believable as an extension of current technology …fast paced and the plot twists will keep you guessing what’s coming next. I recommend this book to science fiction and cyber punk fans; it is a quality read! ~ Blaine Coleman

Reading biographies on literary agency websites, I often see a statement such as: “I’m a sucker for a believable, well-painted world.”

This tells us a couple of things. Agents are people too, and want to escape the ordinary as they read the slush pile day in and day out. ‘Escape fiction’ is a redundancy, for escape implies a new world to enter, even if only slightly different from our own. As readers we want to see how a downtrodden character (because many of us feel that way sometimes) resolves an ethical or moral question that has great emotional impact for them. We want to learn something.

The new world can be a courtroom, a TV soap, an emergency room, a racing stable. We’ve all entered those worlds with skilled writers as our guide. And what we find is that those worlds are not merely backdrops, but can act as a character. The world performs in the writer’s hands to strengthen our illusion of being there while highlighting the theme or premise of the story.

Agents and readers are looking for ideas with emotional impact. They look for potent characters who are active, and are not afraid of conflict. (Or maybe your character is afraid of conflict, but must face it all the same.)

It is axiomatic that if you put an interesting character on the stage with their worst enemy, you get drama. To flesh that out, you’re investing emotional capital in a struggle between two main characters, in the context of a high-concept idea. So when a man takes his wife to court for custody of their child, you might get Kramer Versus Kramer, or if a man unknowingly makes a pact with the devil, you might get The Firm.

It’s also axiomatic in the publishing world that your fiction or memoir plot has to provide some information or insights to solving problems in the real world. Orson Scott Card’s novels, largely YA, often address themes such as leadership.

A memoir is only impactful in the writer’s interpretation of the events. Readers are willing to look through other eyes if they will learn something about how to handle the world. The same is true of narrative nonfiction… how would you tell about the events of 9/11 through your own eyes, so we could all find out something new?

Newly published authors these days usually come out with a high-concept idea that is story-worthy and can be phrased in one sentence. So, agents are looking not for a story, but for a drama. To put that into marketplace terms, if someone pays $29.95 for your book, and wades through 400 pages of text, they have made a huge commitment. What are you going to teach them and how are you going to make your story dramatic and believable enough to rise to that commitment?

Here’s one way. If you can deliver a solution to a moral and ethical dilemma that provides useful insights into the real world while pushing believable though imperfect characters into conflict in a well-painted yet possibly quirky world, you have met that challenge.

Recent reviews…

What a Find – Absolutely AWESOME book!

I was looking for escape fiction, and while the book provided that, it is so much more. It made me think, and it is changing my life. If you want to know the deepest secrets of the universe, this book won’t spoon feed you, but will give you lots of terrific hints. Look over there! Consider this! What would you choose? And last, best, what will I choose?

Most important for me in a book of fiction is the characters. They have to be real people, and they have to make me care about them. The author created characters different than any I’ve seen anywhere, and many of them are folks I want to know better. (Of course, some of them are bad guys I want to squish between my thumb and forefinger.) Now I need to find another book by Lee Baldwin!

~ Maggie Uh-O, on Amazon

A Unique Voice in Story Telling.

Next History is humorous, a cliff hanger, a marvelous love story, and perfectly executed.

I usually dislike reviews comparing authors but Sheri Tepper comes to mind. Not in style but in subject matter and Mr. Baldwin’s heartfull take on subjects usually shied away from by those less brave.

~ Ernie Smitty (Orygun), on Amazon

Thank you for hope…

The reading of this book reinforced beliefs I have held for some time. Thank you for hope. I loved the book…

~ Dragonviolet, on Amazon

A struggle between the divine feminine and the patriarchy…

…a surprising theme for a science fiction novel.

The descriptions of the “dreamtime” are lyrical and sensuously enjoyable, sometimes funny. The whole world is hallucinating… beautifully written with insight and subtelty. The action is fast and totally engaging.

What Is Next History Made Of?

Next History, what’s it about? Alternative history, alternative futures, contemporary fantasy, epic science fiction… how would you categorize Next History? The narrative takes on themes around the nature of reality, of God and the Devil, of supernatural beings we sometimes understand as angels, and drives us face to face with the power humans are now developing from emerging consciousness.

Next History is based on contemporary philosophy and spirituality, such as from Deepak Chopra, Eben Alexander, Jack Kornfield, Caroline Myss, Ervin Lazlo, Alan Watts, Andrew Weil, Marianne Williamson and others.

I got the idea for Next History from a single question. What if we received a clear and accurate history of our beginnings, a history not manipulated by political ambition or belief? This led me to rewrite the story of the mythical Lilith into a tale that could provide hope. After all, do we actually know the truth? Do we?

What a Find – Absolutely AWESOME book!

I was looking for escape fiction, and while the book provided that, it is so much more. It made me think, and it is changing my life. If you want to know the deepest secrets of the universe, this book won’t spoon feed you, but will give you lots of terrific hints. Look over there! Consider this! What would you choose? And last, best, what will I choose?

Most important for me in a book of fiction is the characters. They have to be real people, and they have to make me care about them. The author created characters different than any I’ve seen anywhere, and many of them are folks I want to know better. (Of course, some of them are bad guys I want to squish between my thumb and forefinger.) Now I need to find another book by Lee Baldwin!

~ Maggie Uh-O, on Amazon

A Unique Voice in Story Telling.

Next History is humorous, a cliff hanger, a marvelous love story, and perfectly executed.

I usually dislike reviews comparing authors but Sheri Tepper comes to mind. Not in style but in subject matter and Mr. Baldwin’s heartfull take on subjects usually shied away from by those less brave.

~ Ernie Smitty (Orygun), on Amazon

Thank you for hope…

The reading of this book reinforced beliefs I have held for some time. Thank you for hope. I loved the book…

~ Dragonviolet, on Amazon

Beneath it all…

is a struggle between the divine feminine and the patriarchy, a surprising theme for a science fiction novel.

The descriptions of the “dreamtime” are lyrical and sensuously enjoyable, sometimes funny. The whole world is hallucinating…. beautifully written with insight and subtelty. The action is fast and totally engaging.

Why Have a Book Called Next History?

A single question drove me to write Next History: The Girl Who Hacked Tomorrow.

What if we found a completely accurate history of our beginnings, an unbiased record that was not passed down verbally, not reimagined in every telling?

I started looking at creation myths of many cultures, located the first feminine archetype, and found scholarly input that became an energy source for every writer’s favorite question: What If?

The answers created turmoil. They pushed some of the characters toward God. Some were driven in desperate search for a demon or an angel that could redeem them. The young female protagonist is prepared to settle for death, to throw away all her money for a single chance to see her mother again. She is driven, yet too realistic to think a Devil could possibly exist. And she laughs at the idea of a bargain with God.

One thing I learned in the writing, it is the intensity of a character’s quest, not what is it, that makes the story move.

Along the way I saw an important flaw in the history and mythology around the archetypal Lilith, the first female created in Babylonian and Hebrew mythology. Did I use that? Oh yes I did.

Next History weaves big-iron predictive knowledge, a plugged-in world population, Sumerian creation myth, and a demonic presence with a hip sensibility to launch us beyond the hyperdata age toward a shifting and dangerous event horizon.

The story is a head-changing whirl toward a future world so outrageous, the survivors
will be forced to adapt, or die.

Jacket Blurb

Exquisite and resourceful Tharcia, at risk in a world where
instinctive drives have been unleashed, seeks her mother for
a final throwdown.

Her only difficulty is that Mom is dead.

Through her peculiar mix of technology and magic, Tharcia ensnares
a strange entity in a geometric prison. It is not her mother.

When Tharcia unearths an enchanting oracle from her deepest being,
her life, and the future of humanity, is about to be reprogrammed.

Will there be a collective, agonizing dive into chaos and depravity?
Will Tharcia reveal humanity’s true purpose?

Or, will nothing change at all, except for the dark fate
of one luckless girl?

Find out for yourself. I felt in the end that I had a story worth telling. It brings up the most important question humans ever face: Who am I and how do I matter to the universe? The answer belongs to you.

Matthew Fox on Benedict’s Papal Legacy and why it makes Next History relevant

Recently, NPR’s Amy Goodman interviewed excommunicated priest and author Matthew Fox on the legacy of Pope Benedict for the Catholic Church. Some of Fox’s remarks go to the heart of why I wrote Next History: The Girl Who Hacked Tomorrow, why I saw an important flaw in the history and mythology around womankind, and the archetypal Lilith, the first female created by God in Babylonian and Hebrew mythology.

Here’s Fox on why he was excommunicated:

“Number one was that I was a feminist theologian, he said. I didn’t know that was a heresy. Number two, I called God ‘Mother.’ Well, I proved that all kinds of medieval mystics called God ‘Mother,’ and so does the Bible, although not often enough.

“Number three, I prefer ‘original blessing’ to ‘original sin.’ Jesus never heard of it; no Jews ever heard of it. And they accused me of not condemning homosexuals, which of course I do not.

“They’re really Rorschach tests about what really freaks out the Vatican. And, of course, above all, it’s women and sex. And that is the agenda. Whenever there’s fundamentalism and fascism, it’s about control. That’s why the Vatican, the Taliban and Pat Robertson have this in common: They’re all freaked out by the possibility of bringing the divine feminine back, and with it, of course, the equal rights of women.”

Fox’s ‘divine feminine’ remark resonated with me, because the construction of Next History: The Girl Who Hacked Tomorrow originated with a single question: What would it be like if we discovered a crystal clear record of our creation times, historically accurate and not mythologized or distorted by politics? I discovered that the Akashic Record could fill that need. How could humans find out about the Record in large numbers? The whales could deliver it.

The Whales? Oh yes, I forgot, it’s science fiction.

OK suppose all that stuff. What would we find out? Among other things, we might discover that the goddess feminine in the form of the mythical Lilith has been smeared and degraded since about 2300 BCE, beginning with the stories the Levite priests told about her.

Prior to that Lilith was revered for hundreds of thousands of years as the source of abundance, the font of human life, health, healing and wisdom. My pet theory is that some males cannot live with the jealousy.

Next History in the end is the story of how Lilith comes to be alive on Earth again, how women the world over rise in waking consciousness of the feminine divine and come to be seen as the equals of men in every way. Equals, not superiors, it’s how women roll. Too bad it has to be science fiction, but this is a small seed I wanted to plant for whoever reads the book.

Dr. McKenzie is an Associate Professor in Entrepreneurship at Cal State East Bay (Hayward, CA). He teaches an undergrad class in Integrated Marketing Management. Students learn techniques of business marketing and promotion in an applied sense.

In this course, students are assigned consulting projects with local small businesses. McKenzie invited Lee Baldwin to work with a student consulting team, which will develop a marketing plan for Angle of Attack, available on Amazon.com for the Kindle reader.

Lee will meet with the team between late January through mid-March. First meeting will be to describe marketing plan goals and issues to the team. At the final meeting mid-March Baldwin will receive their final report, and put the marketing plan immediately into action.

Since posting the book on Amazon, it’s become clear to Baldwin that writing a novel is one thing, but promoting and making it visible requires ten times the cost and effort. It is valuable to have a marketing plan, especially as this will be developed by individuals in demographics the novel must reach to succeed.

Baldwin is happy to say that Angle of Attack is approaching 1,000 downloads, and that there are six reader reviews, all of which are 5-star. There has been strong support for the plot, characters, and dialogue. Baldwin sends big thanks to all who have taken an interest in his work!

Clicking this LIKE button will promote the Angle of Attack Facebook page!

Mystery adventure novel, Angle of Attack, now available on Amazon Books for Kindle.

Adventure and intrigue in a world of extreme flying, quirky women, and the power they covet.

Cicero Clay is a researcher of vintage WWII warbirds, a glider flight instructor, and an accidental convict.

While Clay pursues proof that he was framed, an old girlfriend becomes his Parole Officer.

Now in league with a jailed gangsta boss, the girlfriend has corrupted the County parole system, and wants Clay dead, to protect the gang leader.

While trying to stay alive, Clay’s fights to complete his mission: flying a stolen vintage fighter across three states to a secretive buyer. Clay has never flown powered aircraft.

Clay must deduce the motivations of shadowy characters to survive, and face challenges that push him beyond his comfort zone. In action typical of the story’s unique action scenes, Clay finds out the hard way that a glider can become a murder weapon. And how to fix it before he hits the ground.

Angle of Attack immerses the reader in scenes of extreme flying, rapid plot shifts, and quirky, colorful characters pressed to their limits. The story is set in Santa Cruz, Hollister, San Jose, and other California locales.

Amid the action, a charming love story emerges, as Clay discovers a love he would never have imagined.

Angle of Attack lives up to its title, as a new ally in Clay’s battle appears to attack his remaining enemy with a mortal blow.

Cure For Singleitis Found at Popular Drug Mart

Bored? Lackluster? Ill at Ease in Crowds? Single? There is a new fix for that, and you won’t believe how easy this is! And for the needle-averse, it’s now available as a spray!

Now before your worst fears are realized, it cures singleness without singling out (so to speak) marriage as the only solution… that’s right, it simply gets you into a couple fast, without documentation, waiting periods, or any picky hetero requirements.

Laboratory tests have shown that this Miracle Cure lasts at least as long as real marriage! Yes, on the average, you can expect to be paired up for as much as 7 count ’em 7 years, the length of a typical first marriage in the U.S. And, if you have already been together in a couple, your RE (relationship expectancy) goes way up!

Think of it! One spritz from this innocuous-seeming spray bottle fixes you up for life as we know it. There are, however some Dos and Don’ts.

DON’T SPRAY…

…in the presence of relatives closer than second cousin

…in the presence of ex-partners living or dead

…in the presence of your best friend’s Significant Other

…in a bar or drinking establishment

…when you are over the legal limit

Be Safe! Have Fun! Go Forth and Multiply! (Or divide if you are any form of one-celled life.)